PATNA: BJP legislators in Bihar are testing the patience of their JD(U) counterparts, taunting them with 'NaMo Namah' greetings, an expression that uses the first two letters in the name of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. For hardliners within the Bihar BJP, this greeting seems more an expression of defiance to those opposed to Modi, and a taunt to JD(U) that has threatened to walk out of the alliance if Modi is projected as NDA's prime ministerial candidate.

Last June, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and one of the JD(U)'s key leaders told ET in an interview that BJP, which leads NDA, should name a PM candidate with secular credentials before the 2014 polls.

In the same interview, without mentioning Modi by name, Nitish had said his party would be forced to exit the alliance if the Gujarat CM was named the PM candidate. Some BJP legislators said they found nothing wrong with the NaMo Namah greeting.

"What is wrong in NaMo Namah? Even the people of the country are chanting it. No one will be able to stop Narendra Modi," Vikram Kuer, a BJP legislator from Raghunathpur, told ET. Like Kuer, there are other BJP legislators and ministers who are rooting for Modi.

Initially, the BJP leadership was wary of losing the support of such a key and trusted ally and therefore resisted the idea of forcing the issue with the Bihar CM. But this does not seem to have gone well with BJP's foot soldiers, especially those who have been vocally rooting for Modi.

While the taunts continue, some JD(U) members are giving it back. "According to our culture, we greet people with folded hands. It seems they have forgotten their culture," state JD(U) spokesperson and party MLCSanjay Singh told ET.

Another JD(U) legislator Gajajnand Shahi said Bihar did not need to import any Modi from outside. "We have our own Modi here," he said, referring to Bihar's deputy CM SK Modi, who belongs to BJP, which is the junior partner in the alliance government, and shares a good relationship with Kumar.

As the war of words rages, BJP ministers in Bihar are choosing to play it safe. "They must be saying in lighter vein, but then don't quote me," said one senior BJP minister.

Many in Bihar BJP also believe the party does not have the luxury of antagonising Kumar or JD(U) and that Narendra Modi would not make much of a difference in Bihar. We should do everything possible to salvage the alliance. In Bihar, Nitishji is the tallest leader. "Can Narendra Modi ensure our victories in Bihar? If the matter comes to a crunch, I will without any reservation join JD (U)," a BJP MLA told ET.